Form vs. Style
My Big Brother Mark and his girlfriend came to town this weekend, visitting in anticipation of my upcoming birthday. Good times all around, especially the tasty, tasty dinner. Of special note was the double cd they gave me; Exit and Joyful Rebellion by k-os. Now, I won't even pretend that I'm deep into the hip hop scene, but I've been a fan of k-os for several years now, and am gaining respect for more and more of the true artists of hip hop (more on that later). He has some fantastic views on art and music. Read on...
"Considering the importance and emphasis on style in hip hop as of late, it would do us well to question and investigate the relationship between STYLE and FORM. In music we could classify FORM as tone... where for example, the sound of the drums from a song like... let's say The Bridge is Over by KRS-1, just the tone and sounds of those drums communicate a certain beauty. Even the voice and the overall syncopated sentences have a specific tone or FORM... and that's without intellectualizing the lyrics. Added to that is the delivery of verse that could be considered the style. However, even if one disregards that emcee STYLE and its very specific "charm" the peice can be taken in for the sheer beauty of it's FORM, that is... how it sounds from the periphery.
There has been a certain unforeseen circumstance developing ever since STYLE began to define hip hop, and then started casting its shadow on substance or FORM. When a listener comes in contact with hip hop as it is today, the stylish videos and perpetrated lifestyles, they fail to consider that this current trend is a gross evolution of the original artform. To compete, the more introspective emcees, ones with more substance and FORM, feel like they have to incorporate the styles of current trend to survive. When they do, their message becomes diluted. They are accused of hypocrisy and noted as contradictory. It's a sticky situation, because the audience has already been over stimulated by STYLE and when a "more pure form" of hip hop is presented to them it can seem bland, boring, preachy and basically less fun..."
"Considering the importance and emphasis on style in hip hop as of late, it would do us well to question and investigate the relationship between STYLE and FORM. In music we could classify FORM as tone... where for example, the sound of the drums from a song like... let's say The Bridge is Over by KRS-1, just the tone and sounds of those drums communicate a certain beauty. Even the voice and the overall syncopated sentences have a specific tone or FORM... and that's without intellectualizing the lyrics. Added to that is the delivery of verse that could be considered the style. However, even if one disregards that emcee STYLE and its very specific "charm" the peice can be taken in for the sheer beauty of it's FORM, that is... how it sounds from the periphery.
There has been a certain unforeseen circumstance developing ever since STYLE began to define hip hop, and then started casting its shadow on substance or FORM. When a listener comes in contact with hip hop as it is today, the stylish videos and perpetrated lifestyles, they fail to consider that this current trend is a gross evolution of the original artform. To compete, the more introspective emcees, ones with more substance and FORM, feel like they have to incorporate the styles of current trend to survive. When they do, their message becomes diluted. They are accused of hypocrisy and noted as contradictory. It's a sticky situation, because the audience has already been over stimulated by STYLE and when a "more pure form" of hip hop is presented to them it can seem bland, boring, preachy and basically less fun..."